Improvement in carding-engines



l UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE,

FRANCIS A. CALVERT, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT INCARDING-ENGINES.

Specification forming` part of Letters Patent No. 40,018, dated September 22, 18673.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANCIS A. UALVERT a resident of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have made a new and useful invention having referenceto machinery for carding or treating either cotton, wool, or various other fibrous materials 5 and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying draw ings, of which- Figure l is a top view, Fig. 2 a side elevation. and Fig. 3 a vertical and longitudinal section, of an improved carding-machine as constructed with its licher-in, made as hereinafter described, and combined with the main card-cylinder and a retainer, and provided with mechanism by which, when rotated, such licker-in will be caused not only to seize the iibrous material from the feed-rollers and lay and work77 it on the retainer, but to operate in a manner to continuously strip the rear part of the main card-cylinder of fibrous material, substantially as hereinafter explained.

The drawings do not represent all the workers and strippers, and the usual top cards and various other appliances of a carding-engine,

`as such devices, or any portion or portions of them, are supposed to be used with my invention whenever it may be desirable to employ them.

In such drawings, A denotes the frame for supporting the various operative parts, B being a main card-cylinder, and C another cardcylinder, which I term the retainer.

D is 'a doffer or doliing cylinder of the ordinary construction. In rear of the main cardcylinder B, and just below the retainer C, there is the toothed cylinder or licher-in 7 E, and in rear of that there is a pair of feed-rollers, F F, the whole of such cylinders and rollers being arranged with their axes parallel and in other respects as shown in the drawings.

The said lickerin E, instead of being covered with eardclothing, as are the retainer, the main cardcylinder, and the dotfer, has teeth a a, made of steel, and somewhat like sawteeth, they being raised on a band or strip, b, of steel, and shaped as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the former gure being a top v'iew and the latter a side view of a strip of such teeth. In the application of such a strip to the surface of a cylinder, o, composing the body of the lickerin, it is to be wound in a helix about the curved surface of such body, and with the ends of the helix touching one another or being close together; or strips of teeth may be put on in circular rings parallel to one another, and in planes perpendicular to the axis ofthe licher-in, in which case the said licher-in, while in operation, should have a short reciprocating endwise motion, in order that the teeth may act on the entire curved surfaces of the main card and the retainer. When, however, thez teeth are arranged in a helix, as described, a simple rotative motion of the lickeein will suffice to cause the teeth to act on the main card-cylinder and the retainer.

The directions of rotary motions of the licherin, the feed-rollers, the retainer, and the main card-cylinder are indicated in Fig. 3 by arrows placed on them. The form and directions of the teeth of the card-clothing` of the retainer, the main card, and the doftercylinders are also shown in Fig. 3.

On the shaf't of the main card-cylinder are two grooved pulleys, G H, around each of which one of two crossed belts, I or K, runs, these belts also working respectively on pulleys L M, applied on the shafts of the licher-in and retainer.

Another pulley, N, applied to the shaft of the main card-cylinder serves to operate the doffer by means of a crossed belt, o, which goes around a pulley, P, fixed on the shaft of the doifer.

In practice the periphery of the retainer is to revolve one inch while that of the main card-cylinder turns two inches and that of the licher-in three inches. These speeds are particularly adapted for carding cotton; but in case of the machine being employed for the carding or treating of wool, the licker-in should have a much higher velocity.

The rates of speed of the retainer, the main card-cylinder, and the licher-in are not intended to be always as above mentioned, as

while the periphery of the main card-cylinder is to move faster than that of the retainer, the periphery of the licker-in is to revolve faster than that of the retainer or the main card-cylinder, the rates of velocity of these parts bcing in proportions as may be best suited for the material to be treated.

In the operation of the machinery' above described the licher-in will not only seize the fibrous material as it may be delivered by the feed-rollers, but will carry it forward to the main card-cylinder, and thence to the retainer. In rotating alongside of the main cardeylinder the licher-in operates also to strip the latter of the fibrous material which it may carry back to the licher-in. The material so taken from the main card by the licher-in will not only be thrown by it upon the retainer, but Will be combed and more or less Worked by the licher-in, While such material may be held by the retainer and be Within the sphere of action of the licher-in. The retainer will carry and deliver the material to the main card-cylinder, Whose card-clothing, having a velocity faster than that of the retainer, Will not only draw the fibrous material away from the retainer, but card it and prepare it for the action of the dot'fer. The iibrous material the doier may fail to remove from the main cardcylinder Will be likely to be taken therefrom by the licher-in. It may also be stated that the licker-in, constructed as above described, will operate as a scutcher, and not only comb but scutch the fibrous material or remove much dirt or extraneous matter therefrom. Instead 0" employing but one retainer to the licker-in,

there may be two or more arranged over it and with respect to one another in such manner that one may co operate With the other.

My invention has been found in practice to produce highly important and useful results.

I claiml. The improved carding-machine as con structed, with its licker-in made substantially as described, and combined With the main card-cylinder, a retainer, and mechanism by which, when rotated, such licher-in shall be made not only to seize the fibrous material from the feeding-rollers and transfer it to and Work it when on the retainer, but operate to continuously strip the main card-cylinder at its rear, substantially as hereinbefore specified.

2. The combination of the toothed liclCer-in, one or more retainers, and machinery by which such licker-in may be driven or rotated at a velocity greater than that otl the retainer, or that of either of them, when more than one may beemployed.

F. A. CALVERT.

Witnesses R. H. EDDY, F. l). HALE, J r. 

